COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITY FUND

PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITIES OF OPPORTUNITY ACADEMIC RESEARCH PROJECT. WE HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND PRACTITIONER TEAM COMPRISED OF NATIONAL EXPERTS WHO WILL DEVELOP AND FIELD TEST AN ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY TO UNDERSTAND THE KEY PATHWAYS NECESSARY TO IMPROVE LIFE OUTCOMES FOR RESIDENTS LIVING IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING. ENTERPRISE COMMUNITY PARTNERS IS PROVIDING NEIGHBORHOOD ASSESSMENTS VIA ITS OPPORTUNITY 360 PROGRAM, AND IS LEADING ON POLICY AND SYSTEMS CHANGE. THE ASSESSMENTS WILL BE DESIGNED AND LED BY NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED EXPERTS FROM THE DARTMOUTH INSTITUTE OF HEALTH POLICY AND CLINICAL PRACTICE, THE HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, FOCUSING ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRIBUTORS TO HEALTH; AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. SUCCESS MEASURES, A SUBSIDIARY OF NEIGHBOR WORKS, WILL LEAD THE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS. THE PROJECT WILL TAKE PLACE IN A VARIETY OF EXISTING JONATHAN ROSE COMPANY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPERTIES USING A FACTORIAL DESIGN METHODOLOGY, WHICH SEEKS TO DISENTANGLE THE CAUSE AND EFFECT OF VARIOUS PROGRAM INTERVENTIONS UNDER DIFFERENT COMMUNITY CIRCUMSTANCES. WE WILL DEVELOP ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION TOOLS AND STRATEGIES THAT WILL BROADEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW INDIVIDUALS, BUILDING-BASED COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS INTERACT TO CREATE PATHWAYS TO OPPORTUNITY AND IMPROVED LIFE OUTCOMES FOR OUR RESIDENTS. ASSESSMENTS WILL BE MADE AT THE INDIVIDUAL, BUILDING AND COMMUNITY LEVELS.THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION TOOLS TO MEASURE THE IMPACT AND COST EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLEMENTING RESIDENT SERVICES IN LOW INCOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESIDENTS AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IT SEEKS TO DEVELOP THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ECOSYSTEM IN WHICH RESIDENTS LIVE, AND THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THEIR INDIVIDUAL LIFE OUTCOMES. OUR APPROACH IS TO COLLECT BASELINE DATA ON IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THIS ECOSYSTEM, IMPLEMENT INTERVENTIONS TARGETED AT HIGH IMPACT ACTIVITIES, THEN COLLECT LONGITUDINAL DATA TO ASSESS THAT IMPACT IN INTERVENTION SITES COMPARED TO CONTROL SITES. THE RESEARCH PROJECT SEEKS TO DEMONSTRATE THE EFFICACY OF HOUSING BASED OPPORTUNITY STRATEGIES FOR RESIDENTS, OWNERS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, WITH THE GOAL OF THESE RESULTS SCALING AND CREATING SYSTEMS.AN EXCITING AND UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS PROJECT IS ITS FOCUS ON ENGAGING RESIDENTS AS PARTNERS IN THIS WORK, NOT ONLY IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS BUT ALSO AS CO-CREATORS OF INNOVATIVE, HOUSING-BASED APPROACHES TO IMPROVING THEIR HEALTH. A KEY ELEMENT OF OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IS THE CONCEPT OF CO-PRODUCTION: INCLUDING THE RESIDENTS AS CO-DESIGNERS AND CO-IMPLEMENTERS OF THE INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE RESIDENT HEALTH OUTCOMES AND REDUCE HEALTH CARE COSTS. CO-PRODUCTION HAS PROVEN TO BE A KEY COMPONENT OF INCREASED RESIDENT PARTICIPATION AND IMPROVED OUTCOMES. POST-IMPLEMENTATION, WE WILL CARRY OUT RE-ASSESSMENTS AND CONDUCT A DETAILED EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS, COMPARING THE OUTCOMES OF THE INTERVENTION SITES WITH THE CONTROL SITES. WE HYPOTHESIZE THIS DATA WILL INDICATE PATHWAYS TO INCREASE RESIDENT HEALTH AND WELLBEING, REDUCE HEALTH CARE COSTS AND PROPERTY OWNERSHIP COSTS, AND COMPARE THE EFFICACY OF THE RANGE OF INTERVENTIONS.AND THEN, WITH MEANINGFUL DATA, WORKING WITH ENTERPRISE, INTERVENING AT THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE FINANCING, AND PUBLIC CITY AND STATE HOUSING PROGRAMS, WE WILL SCALE THESE IDEAS, WITH THE VISION THAT ONE DAY, EVERY CHILD IN AMERICA WILL GROW UP IN A COMMUNITY OF OPPORTUNITY, REGARDLESS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN WHICH THEY LIVE.